The new Snapper riders don't do much for me. Can't stand them on end, steering is sloppy, no recoil starter and etc. I don't handle the throw away box store walk power mowers or the NXT mowers. The walk power mowers we are selling will not restart when hot and tech says to wait 15 minutes before trying to restart.

We are serviced by a distributor who covers Alabama and the Florida Pan Handle so I don't know how briggs handles their direct dealers.

The margins are too slim and then Briggs comes up with give away and price cutting programs without compensating the dealers.

We are a stocking and servicing dealer for GE standby generators and that side of Briggs & Stratton is completely different. They actually know what they are doing on the sales side and the tech support side. The GE/B&S generator people are a joy to work with.

I'll make my decision about continuing as a Snapper dealer after EXPO.

We deal with Briggs Power Products directly and I must say it's a pain in the arse. Horrible parts margins and a minimum of 3-4 days on an express parts order. Our rep is awesome but has no power. We sit on old inventory and they play games with our floor plan at their will. Shame too, Ferris is an extremely good product and are being run by corporate dipsh*ts. Snapper has been going downhill for a long time, but we stay true to them because we don't have a lot of competition around besides the box stores and people are tired of dealing with them. We're quite honest about the crap we're selling them, but sell ourselves and our service as the key to the machine. Hard to find anyone making a decent residential machine that is actually worth the money and has any kind of a margin.

We're looking to pick up a residential mower line and have been considering a BPP brand...it's one of the few options currently available in this territory. Some things I've read on here scare me, but it seems to be true that there is no perfect company to deal with. This is one of the reasons I am attending EXPO this year, to explore our options.

Jim...we are Snapper and Simplicity as well as a number of other brands. If you want details on anything send me a private message or bring it up in the Facebook group that is private. I don't like to get into too much detail on a public forum. We will also be at Expo. Snapper seemed to get into trouble when they jumped in bed with Sears and then made matters worse by hiring Sears executives. It will take some time to clean that up. Briggs is tied at the hip to the box stores so there isn't a high level of trust from the dealer channel. It is what it is.

Anyone considering a new line needs to get their hands on a copy of the NAEDA dealer survey. If you are a member of a dealer group that belongs to NAEDA you can get it for free. It is an extensive list of questions put out to dealers. It really shows which manufacturers are held in high regard by dealers and also shows who a dealer should avoid.

This kind of information can save a dealer from making a very big, expensive mistake that will cost thousands of dollars, waste huge amounts of time and create many headaches. We recently added a new line after seeing their strong results on the survey. It also confirmed our concerns about another manufacturer we have. When you talk to a problem company they will rarely admit to any difficulties. They also like to point out that whatever you are telling them is the first time they have heard that and that you are the only dealer having that problem. The survey results for this company tell us they have a huge and growing problem with dealers.

Most dealers would be able to guess which brands are near the top. The ones on the bottom have really got their work cut out for them. The beauty of the survey is that you can watch from year to year. Some poorly ranked companies can start listening to their dealer network and improve the situation. The higher ranked companies are also not immune to making bone headed decisions which can drag down their results from year to year.

Dealers are never going to get everything they want from a manufacturer but the better ones actually listen to dealers and work with them.

Jim...we are Snapper and Simplicity as well as a number of other brands. If you want details on anything send me a private message or bring it up in the Facebook group that is private. I don't like to get into too much detail on a public forum. We will also be at Expo. Snapper seemed to get into trouble when they jumped in bed with Sears and then made matters worse by hiring Sears executives. It will take some time to clean that up. Briggs is tied at the hip to the box stores so there isn't a high level of trust from the dealer channel. It is what it is.

Anyone considering a new line needs to get their hands on a copy of the NAEDA dealer survey. If you are a member of a dealer group that belongs to NAEDA you can get it for free. It is an extensive list of questions put out to dealers. It really shows which manufacturers are held in high regard by dealers and also shows who a dealer should avoid.

This kind of information can save a dealer from making a very big, expensive mistake that will cost thousands of dollars, waste huge amounts of time and create many headaches. We recently added a new line after seeing their strong results on the survey. It also confirmed our concerns about another manufacturer we have. When you talk to a problem company they will rarely admit to any difficulties. They also like to point out that whatever you are telling them is the first time they have heard that and that you are the only dealer having that problem. The survey results for this company tell us they have a huge and growing problem with dealers.

Most dealers would be able to guess which brands are near the top. The ones on the bottom have really got their work cut out for them. The beauty of the survey is that you can watch from year to year. Some poorly ranked companies can start listening to their dealer network and improve the situation. The higher ranked companies are also not immune to making bone headed decisions which can drag down their results from year to year.

Dealers are never going to get everything they want from a manufacturer but the better ones actually listen to dealers and work with them.

Thanks for the tip about the dealer survey. I was able to obtain a 2013 copy, and the information is eye opening.

I checked out the dealer survey too. I also shared it with my Briggs and Kohler r eps. The Kohler rep was surprised the engine lines weren't included in the survey. It is very informative. I am glad my lines did well.
I have to wonder, though, how many of the dealers are direct with the manufacturers and how many deal with distributors. There is a big difference.